January 14, 2010

The Morning Wrap

Haiti's Earthquake: Efforts to administer aid to the people of Haiti have been halting and in many cases nonexistent due to the scale of devastation the country is dealing with, The New York Times reports. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday that 3 million people or about a third of the country's population had been affected by the quake. The Associated Press has more on the quake and U.S. rescue and aid efforts here.

Tax Hike for Top Banks: President Obama plans to propose an increase to the amount of taxes top banks pay as a way to raise about $90 billion over the next 10 years and a way to curtail the risks taken by banks in search of outsize rewards, The Washington Post reports.

The Cost of Counsel: Howrey is collecting on a $1 million legal bill sent to William Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts and a one-time New York gubernatorial hopeful, following a fee dispute that went to arbitration last year. The New York Law Journal reports that Howrey had represented Weld in a grand jury investigation and other litigation arising from an accreditation and student-loan scandal at Decker College in Louisville, Ky.

Geithner's Supboena: A House panel has slapped a subpoena on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, seeking "all documents" relating to payments that American International Group Inc., made to other financial institutions from federal bailout funds. Corporate Counsel reports via Law.com that the subpoena also wants documents dealing with the decision to compensate AIG's counterparties at 100 cents on the dollar, as well as public disclosure of the counterparty payments.